1. Shawn Kemp, Power Forward/Center
A player that split his career between mostly two teams that Jordan and the Bulls had close associations with was the former Cleveland Cavaliers and Seattle SuperSonics 6-foot-10 big man Shawn Kemp. When he played for the Sonics, Kemp fell one step short of the only shot he had of winning an NBA Championship.
The Sonics faced the Bulls in the 1996 NBA Finals. It was a good series, but the Bulls won without too much trouble. Gary Payton, Kemp, and the Sonics wouldn’t get back to try and exact revenge on Jordan and the Bulls again in the 1990’s. The Sonics couldn’t get past the stellar Utah Jazz in the Western Conference in the late 1990’s.
This Elkhart, IN, native and Trinity Valley Community College product was the 17th overall pick of the Sonics in the 1989 NBA Draft. He would be a six-time NBA All-Star selection and three-time All-NBA honoree. But Kemp wouldn’t even be named to an All-Rookie Team during the 1989-90 season.
The regular season record that Kemp held against Jordan in his career was 6-13. He averaged 14.1 points per game, 7.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks in those 19 meetings. Kemp was much more productive against Jordan and the Bulls in the NBA Finals. He averaged 23.3 points per game, 10.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.1 blocks, in six games in the 1996 finals.